Matilda Barretta
My work focusses on capturing the way that emotional states can act as a lens through which we view the physical world. Drawing from autobiographical daily observations and my interior landscape of thoughts and emotions, I construct scenes through drawing and painting that aim to imbue local figurative scenes with an emotional authenticity via colour and composition. The results are pared-back, vivid depictions of vague spaces and uneasy, uncommunicative interactions within them. The recurring emotion depicted is loneliness, whether the character is alone or in company, communicated in their repressed expressions, dramatic shadows and vulnerable poses. The works contain narrative potential, but give nothing more than the moment away, like a film still. Whilst the root of the work is personal, the depicted experiences are universal, and the specific nature of their source material serves to heighten how viewers can relate.